The award ceremony was held on Friday, May 22 in Milan at the ADI Design Museum for the ventinovesima edition of the Compasso d’Oro Award, the prestigious recognition promoted by the ADI Associazione per il Disegno Industriale and established by Gio Ponti and La Rinascente in 1954 to celebrate the excellence of Italian design. 

Interpreting the present through design

Considered one of the most authoritative awards in the international industrial design landscape, the Compasso d’Oro has been interpreting the evolution of Italian design for over seventy years, understood today as a living culture capable of transforming the world.

The theme of this edition was design as a critical tool for interpreting reality. In an international context marked by instability, geopolitical tensions and profound economic and social changes, design proves to be a language able to connect heterogeneous fields: industry and culture, research and production, memory and innovation. From the selection of the XXIX ADI Compasso d’Oro Award emerges a vision of design that goes beyond the product, increasingly oriented toward the construction of complex systems. 

The international jury

The international jury that selected and awarded the recognitions was composed of Giovanna Carnevali, Executive Director and Head of Design for Expo 2030 Riyadh; Lorenza Baroncelli, Director of the Department of Contemporary Architecture and Design at MAXXI; Giovanni Brugnoli, President of the Fondazione Imprese e Competenze per il Made in Italy; Luciano Galimberti, President of ADI – Associazione per il Disegno Industriale; and Jasper Morrison, an internationally renowned designer and founder of Office for Design.

Projects awarded at the XXIX edition 

Twenty Compassi d’Oro were awarded to particularly significant projects that stand out for formal and functional excellence and for the ability to propose new readings of contemporary needs, 38 Honorable Mentions that signal a widespread and diversified quality of proposals, 3 Compassi to historic and iconic products, 9 Compasso d’Oro Career Awards to key figures in the design scene and finally 3 plaques dedicated to the memory of three personalities who decisively contributed to the culture of design. The jury also awarded 3 Compasso d'Oro Young and 10 certificates of recognition dedicated to university students.

The exhibition of the projects nominated for the XXIX ADI Compasso d’Oro Award is on display until June 4, 2026 at the ADI Design Museum in Milan.

Honorable Mention for Strippedwood by Saviola

Among the 38 recipients of the Honorable Mention was Strippedwood in Pannello Ecologico®, an international certificate of excellence that rewards research, quality and innovation. Developed and conceived by Saviola, Strippedwood interprets the reeded effect in a contemporary key, transforming a minimal language into a refined contemporary proposal. The three-dimensional surface, characterized by an irregular rhythm of striations, generates depth, luminous vibration and formal balance. At its base remains the Pannello Ecologico®, a concrete expression of the Saviola Group's circular model, in which recovered wood finds new life to become a protagonist in the world of wood-furnishing.

Recognition for Catifa Carta by Arper

 Another Honorable Mention was awarded to Catifa Carta by Arper, the first company in the furniture sector to apply PaperShell, an innovative and circular material, an example of responsible design. In this case too the Honorable Mention recognizes Arper’s trajectory, a company that for over 20 years has been committed to innovating the world of furniture through continuous research into material potentials and proposing new solutions for contemporary design.

The 20 Compasso d’Oro Awards 2026 

Solutions to improve the lives of refugees

Vicino da lontano — Anako with IUAV University of Venice, DUOC UC, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba and Pontificia Universidad Javeriana. 

Airo Vision+ coffee machine 

Giuliano Magripò for Axess Industry. 

Array sofa 

Snøhetta for MDF Italia. 

ATM Manifesto. Stories, journeys and design 

Matteo Pirola and Silvia Zeni for ATM. 

Bilboquet table lamp 

Philippe Malouin for Flos. 

Casabella graphic project

 Studio TassinariVetta for Mondadori Media. 

D’Antan armchair 

Raffaella Mangiarotti for De Padova. 

Felix R railway robot 

Lorenzo De Bartolomeis for Loccioni. 

Fiat Topolino car 

François Leboine for Fiat. 

Genny Zero wheelchair 

Enrico Pagano for Genny Factory. 

Composite material Litokol Microcement 

Gian Luca Sghedoni for Litokol Lab. 

Model Zero speaker 

We Associates for Enrico Ciresa. 

Nuance acoustic device 

Matteo Battiston, Michele Tenca, Sarah Richiuso, Omer Kotzer, Lior Rokah, Tamar Marmur and Tamar Dovrat for Luxottica. 

Salone del Mobile.Milano Annual Report 2024 — (Eco)Sistema Design Milano 

Susanna Legrenzi with the Design Department of Politecnico di Milano. 

Spaghetto 3D 

Antonio Gagliardi for Artisia by Barilla. 

Steelnovo bicycle 

Davide Fumagalli for Colnago. 

Temporary urban campsite The Glitch Camp 

IED European Institute of Design. 

Trespolo stool-table 

Giulio Iacchetti for Orografie. 

Museum showcase 

Wing Norman Foster for Goppion. 

Inflatable catamaran X-FUN 

Arduini and Frigerio Industrial Design for Xtramarine.